Although the winners in all the strongest European leagues are already clear, in Spain the final round will be needed to determine who will rejoice with the title of champions. Last weekend, "Atletico" remained without points and dropped out of the fight for the championship title, leaving two contenders for the gold - "Barcelona" and "Real".
With five rounds left until the end of the championship, "Barca" led "Real" by points, and both knew that a slip-up by one of the competitors could bring the champions' title to their team. However, neither of them dropped points: "Real" won eleven games in a row, while just one unsuccessful match away from losing the top spot, "Barcelona" handled the pressure with impressive gameplay - four victories and 21 goals scored without conceding.
Today, these teams await the final matches of the Spanish league, after which it will be clear who will rejoice with the title of champions. "Barcelona" will play away against "Granada", while "Real" will face the "Deportivo" team at their stadium. Before these matches, "Barcelona" knows that a win will bring them joy and the champions' title, while "Real" understands that without a victory, they will have no chance of winning the "La Liga" gold. Only the loss of points by "Barca" and a victory by "Real" would allow the teams to switch places in the league table after the final round and for the champions' trophy to travel to the capital.
Most football fans are convinced that both "Real" and "Barcelona" will defeat their opponents, who are already guaranteed survival in the league, and these matches do not determine anything. However, in the previous round, the matches did not decide anything, and the "Levante" team, playing against the "Atletico" team, who were desperately seeking a victory, ended in a clear triumph for the league's underdogs and took away all hopes from the obvious favorites. Considering that these matches will be played at the opponents' stadiums, where "Barca" has lost points six times this season, and "Real" seven times, it can be doubted that it will be easy for the leaders of the Spanish championship, and opponents playing without any pressure can spoil the celebration for the teams fighting for victory.
About the situation of "Barcelona" and the fact that it will not be easy for them, the best could be told by the players representing Madrid's "Real" team from 1991 to 1993. For two consecutive years, in the 1991-1992 and 1992-1993 seasons, "Real" went to Tenerife before the final round knowing that with a victory, they could win the "La Liga" champions' title. However, in both cases, the "royal" club stumbled, and it was precisely "Barca" who took advantage of it in the final round, winning matches and surpassing the main rivals. The most painful defeat for "Real" should be the failure of the 1991-1992 season - the Madrid team led 2-0 in that match, but ended up losing 2-3.
For Madrid's "Real" fans, there would be nothing more pleasing than to repay their rivals for the disasters experienced over the years and to take the title from their most disliked opponents, just like then, the "Barcelona" team did the same for two consecutive years at that time.
On Sunday, when it will be clear how the medals of the Spanish championship will be distributed, three matches will end the championship, which will determine who will leave the league. "Getafe" and "Sporting Gijon" have 36 points each, while "Rayo Vallecano" has 35, and after the final round, two of these teams will be forced to bid farewell to the league. "Getafe" awaits an away match against "Betis", and in case of victory, they will rejoice for at least another year in the top league, regardless of what the other two teams fighting for survival will demonstrate. "Gijon" will play at home against "Villarreal", who have already secured the fourth place and may lack motivation in these matches, and they will also need points scattered by "Getafe". "Rayo Vallecano" found themselves in the most challenging situation, as they will host the league's underdogs "Levante" at home. The hosts will not only need a victory in that match, but also hope that neither "Getafe" nor "Gijon" will fight for three points in the final round.
It is obvious that in the finishing stages of the championship, these three teams will give their all, but no matter how the final round unfolds, two of these teams will only be able to rejoice at the best by playing in the lower Spanish league next year.
Final matches of the last "La Liga" round:
Saturday:
18:00 "Deportivo" - "Real"
18:00 "Granada" - "Barcelona"
20:30 "Bilbao Athletic" - "Sevilla"
20:30 "Atletico" - "Vigo Celta"
Sunday:
13:00 "Malaga" - "Las Palmas"
20:00 "Espanyol" - "Eibar"
20:30 "Real Betis" - "Getafe"
20:30 "Sporting Gijon" - "Villarreal"
20:30 "Rayo Vallecano" - "Levante"
Tautvydas Sakalauskas
